The English railway companies still lag somewhat behind the foreign companies in the amount of interest earned upon their capital. The total capital of railway companies in the United Kingdom is estimated at £1,245,028,917, and the divisions of this together with the rates of interest yielded by the various groups are set forth in the following table:—
| Rate of Dividend or Interest |
Ordinary | Preference | Guaranteed | Loans and Debentures | ||||
| Amount of Capital |
Per cent. of total |
Amount of Capital |
Per cent. of total |
Amount of Capital |
Per cent. of total |
Amount of Capital |
Per cent. of total | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |||||
| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Not above 2 per cent. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Above 2 per cent. and not above 3 per cent. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Above 3 per cent. and not above 4 per cent. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Above 4 per cent. and not above 5 per cent. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Above 5 per cent. and not above 6 per cent. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Above 6 per cent. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Total Capital | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||||
A glance over these figures will indicate that the average return upon ordinary capital is not so large as might reasonably be expected from well organised railway undertakings in this country. The average dividend yielded by the ordinary stocks may be roughly stated at 3¼ per cent., which is, of course, considerably lower than the average dividend of British-owned companies in other countries. Shareholders in English railways must find compensation for the lower dividends in the fact that their capital is more secure, and that there is no fear of the arbitrary and dishonest treatment which has rendered railway enterprise in many foreign countries so hazardous an investment.
Practically ever since railways came into vogue the receipts from third class passengers have tended to increase. This movement was accelerated many years ago by the introduction by the Midland Railway of third class passenger coaches on the fast non-stopping trains. As third class passenger receipts tended to swell, the second class decreased. There has, however, been a marked change during the past few years. In 1892 the annual increase in third class passengers commenced to slacken, and the years 1902 and 1903 have shown a substantial decline in proportion to the increase in second class passengers. For some years the expansion in the number of second class passengers has been traced to increased long-distance bookings, indicated by a big jump (from 8d. to 11d.) in the average receipts per passenger. There was noticeable, however, in 1903 a tendency for the average receipts to decline, which may be due to a re-adjustment of fares on a lower scale by some of the companies, or to a falling-off in long-distance travelling. It is obvious that the
